Hi everyone, my name is Heide.

My background is in Education, Person Centred Counselling and Residential Social Work, however it is my lived experience of Mental Health challenges that have brought me to the Recovery College, first of all as a student and as time went on as a lived experience tutor.

I have been a peer tutor since September 2017 and feel as passionate about the work we do, as I did at the beginning.

Signing up for one of our courses can be the very first step to re-connect with others in an environment, where stigma has no place, instead where sharing, learning with and from each other, creativity and connecting with others and self becomes possible again.

I feel privileged to be part of such a positive organisation, to be part of building solid foundations for this road towards recovery. Even the longest journey starts with a single first step. Recovery is always possible. I am looking forward to meeting you at one of our sessions and to walk alongside you for part of the journey.

Hello, my name is Paula.

I come from a background of retail and care and am also a level three counsellor. My lived experience of Mental Health and all its challenges brought me to recovery college, firstly as a student and then as a lived experience tutor in 2022.

As a tutor I hope to inspire and encourage students on their journey to recovery in a stigma free environment. The safe setting of the college allows Students to connect, share and learn with each other and allows students the time and space to be introspective.

Being part of an organisation that offers hope and opportunity of building solid foundations towards recovery, is a privilege. Any journey no matter how long, begins with a single step. I look forward to meeting you and being a part of your journey.

Hello everyone, my name is Andrea,

I am thrilled to be part of the Buckinghamshire recovery college team as a Lived Experience Tutor.

My working environment for the last few years has been working within the aviation industry but I have always been interested in mental health and psychology. Hence why I have decided to broaden my knowledge and enhance my skills in this field at university level. I am a people person and I believe that healing also comes from support being offered.

Having experienced the recovery college as a student I have a greater insight and understanding of the college and its courses and what it means to attend courses. It might feel a bit daunting initially being part of a group with strangers, but it will gradually change and although we all have good and bad days the connections made with other students is a valuable. The shared learning and experiences with the tutors and fellow within courses can be of big support and very beneficial. We are all different, we all have the right to be listened to and communication is key for everyone’s personal recovery journey.

I am looking forward to meeting old and new students. I will try my best to engage with students so that they feel comfortable in sessions and that they have a positive learning experience.

Hello everyone, my name is Helena.

I have recently completed my university degree in Education at University of York, where I also gained experience promoting wellbeing and providing support for my peers as the Welfare Officer for the university dance society. Towards the end of my degree I took a year’s absence, when my lived experience of Mental Health challenges meant I needed to step away and seek support. It was during this year that I came to the Recovery College as a student, in September 2021, after attending the Acute Day Hospital – and I am so grateful that I found my way here.

Over my last year as a student I have taken part in a variety of courses – Narrating My Recovery College, Artscape, Spirituality and Recovery, Levelling Up – and I have thoroughly enjoyed each one. These courses have helped me to reconnect with my love of learning, discover and resurrect passions for creative pursuits, build back my confidence with social contact and supporting others, as well as thinking deeply about finding and following purposes in my life. The community of the Recovery College has been such a nurturing environment for me and has given me the strength to complete the challenge of my degree and to look forward to embracing new challenges and experiences – the most exciting of which is my role as a Lived Experience Tutor here at Bucks Recovery College.

I feel so honoured to have been asked to join this fabulous team in September 2022 and I am really looking forward to being able to guide others in their journeys to recovery and their hopes for their futures. The co-production between professional and lived experience tutors was the unique feature of the Recovery College that encouraged me to enrol and I have seen how this core value makes the College a place of equality and true empathy, therefore I am very excited to be able to become part of this co-production process.

I look forward to meeting you on one of our courses!